by Christopher Nolan Oppenheimer soared near the $60 million mark in China during a somewhat dismal weekend for moviegoing in the world’s second-largest theater area.
The Universal Pictures-backed landmark blockbuster added $2.5 million from Friday through Sunday, bringing its total to $58.1 million, according to data from box office tracker Artisan Gateway. Oppenheimer came in fourth place for the frame behind the local crime thriller Dust to dustMillennium Pictures’ action franchise fails Expend4bles and Chinese comedy blockbuster No more betting.
Oppenheimer has been huge on Imax in China. The film earned $740,000 last weekend for a total of $17 million in the format, which is a whopping 30 percent of its nationwide cume to date.
Oppenheimer Opened in China almost a month ago and staying power has been significant. Nolan has a strong following in China – a fact that Universal took advantage of in late August with a very well-received promotional visit to Beijing ahead of the release. Oppenheimer is now roughly in the middle of his filmography in terms of total box office revenue in the country: Interstellar ($139 million), Commencement ($68 million), Basic principle ($66 million), Oppenheimer ($58.1 million), Dark Knight stands up ($52.7 million) and Dunkirk ($51 million).
Oppenheimer is also the fourth largest US film release in China of 2023 behind Quick ($139.5 million), Meg 2: The trench ($116.5 million, but a Chinese co-production) and Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 ($86.9 million).
Dust to dustthe top title of the weekend, is the first feature from Jonathan Li, who cut his teeth as an assistant director on several Hong Kong crime classics, including Hellish business 3, Dog bites dog and the Heard series. The crime thriller earned $7.6 million this weekend. The total is $57.1 million.
Sylvester Stallones Expend4bles went along with a $4.3 million weekend in second place. The film was a disappointment both in China and worldwide. The Chinese total now stands at $19.4 million and Mayoyan expects this amount to reach around $23 million. The first three Consumables films – released in 2010, 2012 and 2014 – earned $31.7 million, $53 million and $72.8 million respectively.
Crime thriller sensation No more betting came in third for the weekend, adding $2.7 million and bringing the massive total to $531.7 million. The film, produced by Ning Hao, has been dominant in Chinese cinemas since its release on August 8.
20th century A ghost tour in Venice, the latest Hercule Poirot mystery starring Kenneth Branagh, also underperformed in China. It failed to crack the top five in the country last weekend and only made about $5 million. Previous entries in the two franchises have had mixed results, but have performed noticeably better than the new installment. Murder on the Orient Express earned $35 million in 2017, while Death on the Nilereleased while China was still struggling with pandemic lockdowns, it grossed $10.8 million.
Paramounts PAW Patrol: The Mighty Movie will be the only US release to hit Chinese screens on Friday. It will go up against several new Chinese titles, including Herman Yau and Andy Lau’s action tentpole Operation Moscow.
